Curios
by pari106
Summary: A (mostly unrelated) collection of drabbles and ficlets inspired by Season 5 - canon, AU, and crossover. Five: "Death is not as he'd expected..."
1. We Are Weak

We Are Weak by pari  
  
a drabble of around 100 words  
  
Rated: G Disclaimer: AtS belongs to Joss Whedon, et al.  
Spoilers: "Time Bomb" Summary: the strong hold out for what they want; the weak settle for what they need. Wesley needs not to heal, lest he forget.  
  
"Your intent is not murder?"  
  
"It never was."  
  
Such is the irony of his existence. No one he's loved has escaped betrayal - through his faults, through his failures, one by one he's betrayed them all.  
  
"I'm with him!"  
  
She'd said it as if it had meant something.  
  
Only those who can not trust do not find their trust misplaced in Wesley.  
  
"You're gonna stay with her, aren't you?"  
  
Where else can he go?  
  
Grief is not all there is to life. It is all Wesley can trust not to have taken from him. If he must cling to some constant… This will do.  
  
fin 


	2. I Walk with Heroes

I Walk with Heroes by pari  
  
a drabble of about 100 words  
  
Rated: G Disclaimer: AtS belongs to Joss Whedon, et al.  
Spoilers: "Hole in the World" Summary: the cavemen win.  
  
"The cavemen win. Of course they win…" They'd been waiting to since Pylea, Wesley imagined. Why hadn't he felt it then? That his finding her had been too good to be true; too good to last. Soon she would be lost - ever more than she had been before. If there was Fate, it had damned them both from the beginning.  
  
"I walk with heroes…," she'd said.  
  
Wesley tread in their footsteps. And - more often than not - wielded the daggers that stabbed them in the back. It was ironic - he'd been so very harmless once.  
  
He'd always heard that the world would end with not a scream, but a whisper.  
  
His world ended on one, also.  
  
"Why can't I stay…"  
  
fin 


	3. A Curious Start

A Curious Start by pari  
  
a ficlet of about 500 words  
  
Rated: PG Disclaimer: props to Joss Whedon and J. K. Rowling; no profit to me.  
Summary: it was his eyes that spoke most clearly of things familiar…  
  
Spoilers: "Not Fade Away"  
  
She'd volunteered immediately.  
  
She'd come a long way from the proper bookworm she'd been before Ron'd died.  
  
"An apocalypse?" she'd asked. "In America?" So she'd die on foreign soil? Too much of her blood had been shed here anyway.  
  
She took her team and apparated to Los Angeles; to the focal point of the dark energies growing there. She found that nasty so-called sorcerer who'd murdered Nymphadora Tonks - Cyvus Vail, he was called.  
  
"I mean, really. I crap better magic than this. Now then, let me show you what a real wizard can do…"  
  
Hermione still loathed foul language. Malfoy had spit out blood and curses with his last breath, and she'd hated him as much for that, as for the criss-cross of scars he'd left on her back and the tops of her thighs.  
  
Vail wasn't alone when Hermione found him. He had a solemn-looking stranger in his grasp who startled Hermione by seeming so familiar.  
  
It was in the stranger's face - the stubbled chin and gaunt profile that reminded Hermione of Remus Lupin. It was in the fact that he was here alone - he had to be at least a little reckless, then. Hermione had certainly known enough men like that - Sirius, Seamus, Harry… Ron. And it was in his defiance… Even at the mercy of magic seemingly greater than his own, the stranger glared at Vail with nothing like defeat. He was either as fearless, or foolish - or perhaps both - as a Potter.  
  
But it was the man's eyes that spoke to Hermione most clearly of things familiar. His eyes were hollowed, except for the cold pain that lived there; they were haunted.  
  
They were the eyes Hermione saw in the mirror each time she gathered enough courage to look.  
  
A swish and flick of the wrist, and a handy hex later, and Vail was lying on the other end of the room; the stranger was standing before Hermione as if uncertain she was really there. He'd landed on his feet when Vail's magic had released him. He only spared a moment, and a nod, to thank her for her intervention, and then they were both striding to Vail's side - Hermione with her wand outstretched, he with a nice-sized fireball he'd conjured in the palm of his hand.  
  
Hermione faced Vail on his left; the stranger faced him on his right.  
  
For the first time in a long time, Hermione felt more than a detached interest in whether or not the battle she fought would be won or lost in her favor.  
  
This man was a curious mix of faces from Hermione's past, and an identity Hermione hadn't yet come to know.  
  
And Hermione had always been curious at heart.  
  
end. 


	4. Striking

Striking

by pari

AU post-"Not Fade Away"

Rated: PG

Disclaimer: props to Joss Whedon; no profit to me

Spoilers for the above; Warnings: herein there be rare-pairing-ness, and just a dash of slash (skip the first two paragraphs, and the occasional use of an s- word, and you won't even know it.) I'm not sure why I write anymore. Things pop into my head and I put them on paper...or something. Feedback, as always, would be appreciated.

--

Xander Harris prided himself in the state of his newly-out-of-the-closet love life. His romantic relationships with men hadn't proved nearly as disastrous as his relationships with women.

Mostly because Xander hadn't had any "relationships" with men. Yet. He was working on it; starting by acknowledging the attraction to himself, when he felt an attraction to someone, and then considering telling that someone how he felt. He knew Wesley Wyndham-Price probably wasn't the right place to start, but... _Damn_. What the hell was LA putting in its drinking water?

"The force of the blast should flush them out of the building. Then we can pick them off from here."

"Yeah. Right. If by _pick them off _you mean _fight for our lives and hope we get lucky_."

Okay, so LA hadn't changed Wesley all _that_ much. He was still the same, skinny English ass he'd always been. So damned certain of himself - so frickin smart. Even when he was being _unbelievably_ stupid.

The ex-Watcher (...demon hunter...sorcerer...what_ever_...) turned his dark, blue eyes in Xander's direction, and the other man swallowed.

Not that taking on a whole pack of Uk'nau demons was _stupid_, per say. And if it was, then Xander wasn't sayin'. Wesley was still a cocky, English ass, yeah. He was still sorta skinny. Sorta - beneath a lotta lean muscle and leather.

But "Percy" Price, the mini-Giles, he was not. The name "Percy" just didn't fit a man who wore more weapons than limbs to use them with. Giles had made Angel's team disarm as soon as they'd showed up at the old Brownstone where the Slayerettes were housed. Xander couldn't decide which had been funnier - the look on Giles's face as Wesley had emptied his arsenal on the front lawn; the way Buffy had stuttered as Angel had asked why Wesley was traveling so "light," or the very-nearly girly screech Bri had let out when Wesley had turned on her with a sidearm. Then he'd blown the brains out of the Uk'nau that had crashed their party and was standing just over Bri's shoulder.

"Well. We could enter the Uk'nau's lair blind and hope we make it past the threshold," Wesley replied, as if suggesting a perfectly reasonable alternative.

Right. So "funnier" wasn't exactly the word. Wesley was smiling that same slight, secretive smile he'd had on his face while Spike had complimented his aim, and Angel had stepped over the body of the Uk'nau that had been about to eat Brianna. Like Angel saw his in-office bookworm shoot things in the head all the time and didn't think anything of it.

The smile had snapped Xander out of the stupor he'd slipped into when he'd caught himself thinking, '_Wesley... _That _Wesley! He's _that _Wesley!_' A moment before he'd been thinking: '_Nice_.' Stubble and edge and a nice set of shoulders... When Angel had spoken to Wesley by name Xander had thought he'd slipped into another dimension. No Wesley he knew was sexy and scary at the same time like this one.

"Yeah. So blasting 'em out is a good idea," Buffy contributed to the conversation. It was the three of them on this side of the abandoned warehouse where the Uk'nau were hiding. Angel, Spike, and Robin had taken another side; Faith and Kennedy and that lawyer guy, Gunn, had taken a third. Giles and Willow were blocking the rear exit out of the warehouse with spells.

"I'm glad you approve."

Sexy/Scary Wesley was kinda subtle. Xander could never tell whether he was being sarcastic, serious, or if he just didn't care either way.

Whatever Buffy would have said to that, her mouth snapped shut when the three of them became _four_.

The god-king Giles said had destroyed her "shell's" soul, and then had saved Wesley's life - transferring half of her Old One powers to him - was stalking around the warehouse towards them with that creepy gait of hers. Her blue hair glowed in the streetlights.

"The Watcher says his spells are ready. We may kill the Uk'nau now and resume our search for the dark wizard."

Angel and co. had come to Cincinnati for reasons of their own. It just so happened that they'd showed up in time to help the gang rid themselves of an Uk'nau infestation. Uk'nau demons weren't all that big a deal, on a scale of one-to-First-Evil. They weren't too smart; rarely got hungry. But they were big - and traveled in big numbers. And had this wacky, Slayers-can't-sense-em aura. Wouldn't hurt to have a couple of vampires, a demon-hunting lawyer, a borderline-psycho ex-watcher and his pet god-king lend a hand in the extermination.

But Angel hadn't been too happy about the deal Giles struck up. Meaning he'd gotten as nasty as any of the Scoobies had seen him, sans Angelus. And each member of his crew had reacted just as negatively to Giles's you-scratch-ours-we'll-scratch-yours approach. Gunn had been giving them all the silent treatment; even Spike was being quiet and distant (which, surprisingly, hurt). Wesley had walked out of the room while everyone was hashing out the details ('...help us with this, Angel, I can help you locate the wizard. If mine is the only copy of the Giorban text you seek, it may be your only chance at defeating his anti-location spells...") And whatever he'd said to Giles later, while they were alone... Xander knew there was more to their very own Watcher-man than they'd thought when they were children. Giles could be scary, too. But after he'd talked to Wesley... He'd looked _scared_. Xander couldn't imagine what the younger Englishman could have said to get _that_ sort of reaction.

The god-king had reacted most negatively of all - although she hadn't been as upset as the others. She'd just been annoyed.

She'd lifted Giles by his throat as Buffy and Kennedy had tried, ineffectually, to stop her, and Angel had tried to stop Buffy from trying.

"If you die, the text will be ours, and we will seek no longer," Illyria (as Angel and the others called her) had said.

Giles might have died if Wesley hadn't come back and talked her down. Apparently Wesley was the only one Illyria listened to.

"Patience, Illyria," Wesley was saying now. "If you'd killed him, we'd have had to come back here and take care of the Uk'nau eventually."

Again, Xander wasn't sure if Wesley was being serious, or just trying to get a rise out of him and Buffy.

It worked _really_ well, either way.

"Can we kill demons now?" Buffy snapped, eyes narrowing at Wesley and Ms. Blue. She hefted the axe she'd had resting on her shoulders and nodded towards the warehouse before them. "Or are you two gonna stand around here flirting all night?"

Buffy'd always had a weird perception of romance. Then again...

Wesley smirked at her, then nodded - in a mockery of consent. And when Illyria stood beside him, he took her left hand in his right, entwining their fingers.

Xander frowned. "So how does this work, anyway?" he asked, lightly. "You said we were supposed to blast 'em out. I don't see anybody carting explosives our way. You gonna magic 'em up?"

Wesley opened his mouth to answer, but Illyria beat him to it. Apparently, the god-king was tired of small-talk. She turned so that she and Wesley were back-to-back, their linked hands facing the warehouse.

"Yes," she said simply.

Then she and Wesley rose their clasped hands and aimed them towards the building.

"You may wish to-"

Wesley's warning disappeared in a flash of the blue light that was suddenly radiating from his and Illyria's fingers and striking the warehouse. The light reflected off of every window in the building, and Xander and Buffy had to drop their weapons, covering their eyes to avoid the painful glare.

There came the sound of earth shaking, plaster crumbling - glass shattering and bricks bursting of their own accord. And amidst it all there were the inhuman shrieks of the Uk'nau - enraged or terrified, Xander couldn't tell which (though, obviously, he hoped it was the latter).

Through the din, Xander heard Wesley begin to speak again.

"-shield your eyes," he finished finally.

"Gee, thanks," was Buffy's muffled reply.

"You are welcome," Illyria told her in a monotone.

Xander opened his eyes, blinking furiously. He straightened - not having realized he'd doubled over - and rubbed at the slightly reddened skin on his face. Then he nearly jumped.

Wesley was standing right in front of him. His blue eyes were glowing now, too - the same, icy blue as Illyria's.

"Alright?" he asked, unexpectedly.

Xander blinked again, for an entirely different reason.

Over Wesley's shoulder he could see that Buffy had rehoisted her axe, and that the warehouse was now nearly crumbling in on itself. The walls were half-standing, half-fallen, and riddled with holes. Dust and smoke wafted out of every crack. Wesley and Illyria had done _that_ with their own two hands?

"I'll live," Xander said, on autopilot.

Illyria strode past the two of them, on a path to the first of the Uk'nau to lurch out of the warehouse.

"We will see," she said.

"She's a real barrel of laughs, isn't she?" Buffy quipped, heading for the next Uk'nau to emerge.

Wesley raised a brow at Xander, but turned without another word. Xander watched as he raised his hands into the air, blue fireballs the size of small boulders forming in his palms. Illyria was punching holes into her Uk'nau with her fists. Buffy was dodging and slicing at hers with her axe.

Xander hefted his own weapons - a smaller-sized, double-ended axe for each hand - and headed into the fray.

That whole '_acknowledge and consider' _thing could wait.

- end -


	5. Unsurprising

Unsurprising by pari  
  
Rating: G Disclaimer: all props to Joss Whedon; no profit to me.  
Spoilers: "Not Fade Away" and immediately before.  
  
Thanks: to the usual suspects. And Cari, for her nice reviews.  
  
"The first lesson a watcher learns is to separate truth from illusion. Because in the world of magics, it's the hardest thing to do… And since I don't actually intend to die tonight, I won't accept a lie."  
  
- Wesley, "Not Fade Away"   
  
Death is not as he'd expected.  
  
It is better.  
  
Every morning Wesley wakes to clean sheets and Fred's smile. He and Fred watch the outside world through their kitchen windows over breakfast and conversation. There is only ever peace to be seen through the spotless glass, and Wesley never leaves bed before noon to see it.  
  
He spends his day cuddling with Fred on the couch, or making love, instead. He supposes he should go and see their friends - who must all be around here, somewhere - but Fred only smiles when he suggests it.  
  
Fred is always smiling.  
  
Wesley spends his evenings seething. The perfection has begun to nettle. Something is wrong. Wesley is half expecting the screams that do not rend the silence, and the blood that doesn't stain his clothes and hands.  
  
And then they come for him, and it still isn't right…  
  
But at least he is unsurprised as the demons cut out his heart. Again.  
  
end. 


End file.
